5 Indian cricketers who had a breakthrough year in 2022
Team India endured one of their worst calendar years in recent memory as they fell short at the final hurdle multiple times. Despite the Men in Blue's poor overall performances in 2022, several players had breakthrough seasons.
Established players like Rishabh Pant were among the highest run-scorers for Team India in 2022, while the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal were amongst the wickets. With a plethora of first-choice stars missing significant portions of the year with injuries and other enforced absences, youngsters and fringe players managed to make a name for themselves.
Here are five Indian cricketers who had a breakthrough year in 2022.
Honorable Mention: Mohammed Siraj
#5 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill made his international debut back in January 2019 in the ODI format before playing his first Test in December 2020. He was on the sidelines for most of his career until 2022, when he finally got a run of games to showcase his worth.
Gill made his mark primarily in ODIs, amassing 638 runs at an average of 70.88 and a strike rate of 102.57. He notched up four fifties and one hundred, and with Shikhar Dhawan being dropped from the side, he seems set to become Rohit Sharma's opening partner in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Gill even recorded his first Test hundred recently and has earned multiple call-ups to the T20I squad, although he hasn't made his debut yet. As the calendar year in which he truly established himself on the international stage, 2022 was special for the 23-year-old.
#4 Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda made his India debut in both white-ball formats in February 2022, going on to make a combined 25 appearances.
The 27-year-old amassed 302 ODI runs and 153 T20I runs, even scoring his maiden international hundred in a T20I against Ireland.
Hooda showed his bowling worth in flashes as well, scalping three wickets in ODIs and five in T20Is. His performances earned him a place in India's T20 World Cup squad, and although he couldn't quite nail down a spot, he finally broke out at the highest level in 2022.
#3 Suryakumar Yadav
2022 belonged to Suryakumar Yadav in T20I cricket. The stylish batter defied logic to amass 1,164 runs at an average of 46.56 and a stupendous strike rate of 187.43 in 31 matches, with nine fifties and two hundreds to his name.
Suryakumar didn't have the greatest year in ODIs, averaging only 26 in 12 innings. But his T20I performances were so superlative that he made his way to the No. 1 spot in the ICC men's rankings for batters and became the lynchpin of the Indian batting lineup.
Everyone knew how good Suryakumar was in the years leading up to 2022, but he took his game to another level and was even named the vice-captain of India's T20I side for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
#2 Arshdeep Singh
Another T20I star for India in 2022, Arshdeep Singh impressed all with his varied skillset and composure under pressure.
The left-arm seamer scalped 33 wickets in just 21 matches to finish the year as the side's second-highest wicket-taker, behind only Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played 11 more matches.
Arshdeep played three ODIs as well, making his debut in both white-ball formats. He stepped up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and took on death-bowling responsibilities with aplomb while also being extremely penetrative with the new ball.
#1 Shreyas Iyer
For all the criticism that was leveled at him, Shreyas Iyer stood tall and excelled in all three formats in 2022.
Shreyas was India's second-highest run-getter in Tests, scoring 422 runs at an average of 60.28 and expertly negotiating spin in challenging conditions. He was also the sixth-highest run-scorer for the country in T20Is, with his strike rate of 141.15 standing out.
In ODIs, the 28-year-old was a class apart. He hit 724 runs at a superb average of 55.69 and a strike rate of 91.52, finishing atop the run-scoring charts. Having established himself as a first-choice batter in all formats for the first time since his debut, Shreyas had a calendar year to remember.